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Star Wars or Star Trek, Apple or Google, The Battle For Supremacy and Relevancy Thrives Here.

iSick

The original iPod debuted November 10, 2001 and along with it a whole new naming convention was born or should I say iBorn. Ick, even typing words with the lowercase ‘i’ moniker makes my stomach turn because of its over usage. Since then countless products, apps, and companies, have all decided to pile on Apple’s coat tails and ride the iWave by following the exact same product naming convention. It wouldn’t surprise me if some silly parents haven’t named their kid iTom or worse by now. Maybe it’s the rebel streak in me but I just can’t stand it if what I wear, what I buy, my hobbies, or even the way I talk isn’t distinguishable and I just don’t fully understand the onslaught of blatant Apple capitalization and Wanna-Bes. I suppose I can understand the Apple related accessories or Apple geared apps using the ‘i’ moniker to some extent, particularly those exclusive to Apple products only but most are frankly a stretch. I once bought a baby monitor that was conveniently named an iMonitor. The name suggests that perhaps it’s one of those fancy video monitors that can sync with your iPhone right? Wrong, it was just a pair of radios and an audio transmitter. A companion app was non-existent. It had nothing to do with Apple. There’s an app called iFart need I say more? Alright, that’s funny and maybe it gets a pass, nevertheless.

Now I’m not suggesting Apple owns the use of the letter ‘i’ as part of a product name. Rather what I am saying is though they weren’t the first, they’ve made it part of their branding and part of our everyday vernacular. They were original with their marketing campaigns and naming conventions. I’m basically saying what happened to good old-fashioned marketing creativity? Be proud of your product on its own laurels if it has any game. At least use a different vowel as a moniker. Come on uCreate it! See not that hard (for the record I’ll try and not title another post with the ‘i’ moniker).